I'd Like to Say It's Valentine's Day
by needysaurusrex
Summary: Daryl and Carol discuss Valentine's Day and his story surprises Carol.


"Have you ever celebrated Valentine's Day?" Carol questions as she turns her head to look over at Daryl. They're both outside under the stars, despite how cold it is in Georgia at the moment. The only noise that can be heard is the low moaning of the walkers that surround the prison, blocked off by barbed wire fences and homemade barricades. It takes a few moments before Daryl replies and his answer surprises Carol.

"Yeah." Carol raises an eyebrow at Daryl and she considers his answer. She had never pictured Daryl to be the kind to celebrate such a silly holiday, as it was a holiday her late husband, Ed, never participated in. She purses her lips and tries her hardest to imagine Daryl standing at someones door with a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates and its almost enough to make her burst into laughter. Though she had received several flowers from Daryl since her late daughter, Sophia, went missing. Whenever she was down, Daryl somehow always found a way to get her a flower.

"I don't mean like when you have to give all your classmates Valentine's because its required…" She says softly, hoping her comment doesn't offend or upset Daryl. Daryl turns and looks over at Carol, frown lines deep in his forehead.

"Neither did I.. Why is it that no one believes I've ever had a girlfriend?" 'Before you' almost slips from Daryl's lips but thankfully he was able to stop himself from saying those words. He didn't even know what was going on between him and Carol and he didn't want to try to put a label this. They can barely see each other under the stars, the only light being from the stars, the moon and some lights that were on inside the prison so Carol's amused look is mostly hidden from Daryl's gaze.

"Well, you don't really strike me… or anyone… as the romantic type." Carol comments, softly shrugging her shoulders against the grass. Daryl lightly frowns and he turns his body so that he's lying on his left side and he stares down at the small, amused smile on Carol's face. Lately, Carol's smile have been few and far between and Daryl relishes in the moments when he gets to see her smile.

"I don't strike _you _as the romantic type, Carol? Really?" He asks the woman lying next to him. Carol had probably been at the end of his romantic gestures, including small flowers and the occasional random gift he was able to find while he was on supply runs. Sometimes it was food like chocolate or a book he remembers Carol mentioning that she likes during their long talks at night. He never tells Carol that its him leaving her gifts in her cell, but Carol knew it was him. A teasing smile forms on her face and she adjusts her body to look up at Daryl.

"Tell me about it. Your best Valentine's Day." Carol asks him, truly curious about what he had done for a past girlfriend. Daryl raises an eyebrow at Carol, wondering if she really wanted to hear about an ex girlfriend. He only dated a few girls in his past and had only spend Valentine's Day with one girlfriend. His actions hadn't been terribly romantic but it was something.

"It was my second girlfriend when I was seventeen and she was sick. A cold or something like that." Daryl starts to tell Carol, turning his head to look out at the sea of zombies that were just outside the gates. Its weird talking about his past life with Carol, as its something they've never talked about with each other. He imagines that its just hard for Carol to talk about her life, so he never brought it up. "Originally, we had plans to go to a movie and dinner, but she canceled and told me to just stay home. Now I'm smart enough to know that she didn't really mean that." Daryl jokes, smiling softly when he earns a small chuckle from Carol and continues on with his story. "I went down to the store and bought some canned soup, flowers and chocolates and showed up at her house in the middle of night with them." He shares with her and Carol turns to glance over at him briefly.

"That's really sweet…" Carol says to Daryl and there is a slight hint of bitterness and jealously to her voice. The only Valentine's gifts she ever got were from her daughter, and don't get Carol wrong she cherished every single one of those gifts from the macaroni necklaces to the string of paper hearts Sophia would put up in her room for her mom to see but there was nothing like getting a gift from your spouse or partner. The only gift she had ever gotten from Ed was a 99 cent candy bar after he had beaten her half to death. Daryl turns to look at Carol, sending the bitterness and jealously in her voice and he purses his lips, trying to buy his words. Daryl wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her body close to his.

"Ed was an idiot for not giving you a Valentine's Day." Daryl said softly and rubbed her left shoulder with his thumb. Carol smiled softly and shut her eyes, turning her head to rest on Daryl's chest. They fall silent again, not even the sound of the walkers moaning and trying to get through the fence ruining this moment between them. Even if this wasn't exactly a relationship, it was the best relationship that Carol had ever gotten to have – all thanks to the zombie apocalypse.

"What day do you think it is?" Carol speaks after a few moments. When the apocalypse first happened, Carol had been keeping track of what day it was. It was easy to be able to figure it out at first but after a few weeks, she had given up on trying to figure out what day it was or what month it was. But occasionally, she would wonder when it was. By the weather, she could tell it was somewhere between November and March but she couldn't pinpoint the specific date.

"No fuckin' clue. Mid-winter, at least." Daryl says with a shrug. Carol smiles and turns her head to face his, staring at his face. Daryl is handsome, even though its not in the most conventional way. He has age lines and stray gray hairs in his hair and facial hair, something that Carol loves. She likes how he's grown his hair out since the first time she met him, as the long hair really fits him. While preferring to keep her hair short because its easier in this world, she hopes that Daryl never cuts his hair. Daryl turns his head and he looked at Carol, her face illuminated by the moon. Daryl leans his head down against Carol's and nuzzles her forehead for a second before pressing his lips to hers.

His kiss is surprising and refreshing to Carol, as its normally Carol that would initiates this kinds of action between the two of them. When his mouth leaves hers, he ran his fingers against her cheekbone for a second before leaning down to press his lips into hers. Carol's hands ran up one of his arms and wrapped around the back of his neck. Daryl adjusts to hover his body over hers and he leans his head to rest his head in the crook of her neck, his lips peppering small kisses along her neck. Her thin fingers lace through the stands in his hair, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Neither of them care that they're out basically in the open and it would be easy for them to get caught by one of the other people that live at the prison with them or by a walker that happened to get in. Moments like this don't happen often and both of them know it. Its calm enough outside that the risk of a walker getting close to them seems highly unlikely. Daryl pulls away from her and reaches his hands down to pull Carol's shirt over her body, revealing her thin, pale body to him. All of this has taken Carol off guard and left her like putty in his hands. Daryl's lips capture Carol's again and a hand cups the side of her face, cradling her face during their kisses. She rests her hands on the small of Daryl's back, her fingers bunching into the fabric of the t-shirt he's wearing. Carol pulls his shirt off and tosses it to the side where he tossed her own shirt, her fingers running up his back. Her hands still for a second when her fingers run over the scars he has from his fathers abuse and she presses her lips into his feverishly.

Daryl presses kisses down her neck again and over her chest, pulling the fabric of her bra down over her breasts. As soon as her breasts are exposed to him, her nipples harden from the cold air and he covers one of her nipples with his mouth. He softly sucks on the hardened bud, Carol's chest arching into his mouth with soft moans escaping from her lips. She tries to keep them under wraps so they're not caught like this, but it's been _so _long since she's been with a man like this that it's difficult for her to stay quiet. His lips continue down her stomach and bit down on the button of her pants. Raising her hips up into the air willingly to help him get her pants off, Daryl's fingers curl into her pants and start to pull them down over her legs. He tosses them in the pile of discarded clothing off to the side and leans back up to press his lips into Carol's again as her fingers take action and undo the button and zipper on his pants. Daryl pushes his pants down to his knees and he wraps Carol's legs around his waist.

Carol reached down between their bodies and grasped Daryl's hardened length, smirking when she heard a groan escape from Daryl's throat. She gave his cock a few long strokes before lining him up with her entrance, Daryl thrusting into her. Both adults cursed when he filled her up, Daryl stilling and burying his head into the crook of her neck. It had been a long time before either of them had had sex and they didn't want it to be over before it even started. It seemed like forever before Daryl began to thrust into her, leaning his forehead against her neck, her fingers tangled inside of his hair.

;;

"Fuck, Carol!" Daryl growls into her ear as his orgasms crashes over him moments after the woman under him had came. His mouth covered hers to prevent either of them from being too loud and drawing anymore attention than they probably already have. Carol whimpered against his mouth as both of them ride out their orgasms. His last thrusts were weak and out of the rhythm he had created, her legs twitching and digging into the small of his back before they became too weak to hold themselves up. Carol slumped back against the grass, gasping and breathing heavily until they both caught their breaths.

Daryl pulls out of the older woman and rolls off her body, lying next to her. Neither of them say a word as they lie there together. Carol's the first to move when she sits up and reaches into the pile of discarded clothing, fishing for her shirt and pants. Daryl sits up after she pulls the shirt over her head and adjusts it over her body, pressing a soft kiss into her shoulder. Carol smiles softly and turns her head to look at him. They're barely able to see each other in the darkness of the night but neither of them care. Carol leans her head back to press a kiss to Daryl's lips. They're silent as they walk back to the prison together, though both of them have uncharacteristic smiles on their lips.

After entering the prison, Daryl walks Carol back to her cell – which is only a few cells away from his – and they're still silent. Neither of them know what to say after giving into the sexual tension that had been plaguing both of them for the last few months. Carol turns around once they've stopped at her cell and she looks up at him with a soft smile. "Goodnight, Daryl." She says softly, taking a step back into her cell.

Daryl looks around the prison to make sure no one can see them before he leans into the cell and presses another kiss into her lips. "I'd like to say it's Valentine's Day." He says, referencing their earlier conversation about what day it could be. Carol smiles at Daryl and she lets out a soft but hearty laugh.

"Then Happy Valentine's Day, Daryl." Carol responds, pulling the cell door shut.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Carol." He responds softly and when she turns away from him and he turns around, walking a few feet back to his own cell. He shut the door behind him and kicked his shoes off before climbing into the bed. A few years ago, Daryl would have never made a move like that. But he's glad he did.


End file.
